


Decaffeinato

by ZarAlexander



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Angst, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-12
Updated: 2015-11-12
Packaged: 2018-05-01 08:37:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5199353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZarAlexander/pseuds/ZarAlexander
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[AU, Shonen Ai, GerIta] Maybe that was the real reason why, in the end, he had never tried a decaffeinato – to be still able to put that old, stained moka on the stove, to hear it gurgle as the coffee was slowly getting ready.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Decaffeinato

**Author's Note:**

> English is still not my native language. I asked it to cooperate, but nope - I'm still a humble foreigner ;)  
> Please, read at your own risk. Any comments are appreciated.

The spoon clinked lightly as he turned the brownish liquid inside the small cup. ****

Coffee was an acquired taste for him. Not that he didn't drink it before... well, _him_ , but it was more of a sterile need for caffeine, rather than a ritual or a pleasure.

 

Back then, coffee was just coffee.

Short, long, diluted, cold, hot – as long as it could keep him effectively awake during his long rounds of paperwork check, it was all the same to him.

 

Then, something happened.

Or rather, _someone_ happened.

 

And a multitude of different tastes and routines entered his life: _espresso, macchiato, cappuccino, caffé shakerato_. Every specialty had its own time and place during the day, its own preparations, its own pros and cons.

 

He still remembered _his_ crystalline laughter that time he had tried to order a cappuccino after lunch.

 

“You don't do that, Ludwig!” he had exclaimed “You simply don't do it! Cappuccino is for breakfast, to drink while you eat a _cornetto_!”

 

A mistake only a newbie could do, mmm?

He had a lot of things to learn, a lot of things he wanted to share with that marvelous, skinny force of nature he had come across. And, somehow, that brown, aromatic liquid seemed to be the perfect bond for their relationship as it filled in the gaps and differences of their opposite personalities with the round, full taste of an espresso.

 

Ludwig Weilschmidt had never drank coffee after dinner, no.

Well, truth to be told he had never had coffee after breakfast time, before little Feliciano had entered his existence. But seeing him humming happily as he prepared his beloved _moka_ after he was done with the dishes, hearing the comforting, gurgling sound of that tiny machine had slowly become a big part of his evening routine.

 

Even if his body wasn't used to caffeine at that time, causing him to lay awake and toss and turn in bed.

 

“You should really try _decaffeinato_ , Ludwig! That's like espresso, almost, but without caffeine. Even if it's not that bad when you're awake. A lot of things that are very _interessanti_ happen when you're awake...!”

 

He always winked as he said that, night after night, coupling that sentence with one of his disarming giggles.

 

Feliciano always drank espresso, anyway.

Morning, lunchtime, after dinner – always espresso, always the same: very hot and with half a spoonful of sugar.

 

And maybe it was naive to think so, but in Ludwig's eyes that really was a proof, the blatant sign that, despite the looks, the frailer, most insecure one wasn't the tiny Italian.

 

As for the _decaffeinato_ , despite part of his pride screaming that he should endure his espressos like a real man, he had promised himself he'd buy some, one day. All in all, it looked like a good compromise, being able to enjoy his evening coffee huddled on the sofa with Feliciano, while still retaining the ability to sleep and be effective in the morning.

 

Somehow, though, he had never really done it.

 

Feliciano died on a windy morning of March.

He was crossing the street while going to work. The light was green for him, all the witnesses had sworn, but a car had turned nonetheless.

 

The doctors at the hospital had told him he didn't suffer, as death was instantaneous.

 

Ludwig had never realized how many things could remind him of his little Italian until every single one of them had become nothing but a painful memory.

 

Maybe that was the real reason why, in the end, he had never tried a _decaffeinato –_ to be still able to put that old, stained _moka_ on the stove _,_ to hear it gurgle as the coffee was slowly getting ready.

 

With or without espresso, he was going to stay up all night anyway.

Crying into a tiny cup of brown liquid.

 

**\- The End -**

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Glossary of coffee types mentioned:
> 
> Macchiato: espresso with a bit of frothed milk (a sort of "mini cappuccino").  
> Cappuccino: espresso with more frothed milk, usually in a bigger cup than espresso.  
> Caffé shakerato: lit. "Shaken coffee". Coffee put in a shaker with sugar and ice, to be served ice-cold. Fantastic in summer. Alcoholic versions available.


End file.
